Good design was critical to make the dice feel like a useful tool instead of a gimmick. Choosing wood as the material helps the dice feel at home in the kitchen and the minimal graphics would make the most orthodox hipster proud. Photo: Liz & Sarah Downey

Foodie Dice Make Gourmet Cooking a Game

Created by sisters Liz and Sarah Downey, the dice were developed to help get them out of a creative rut. "Life gets busy and as you live somewhere longer it’s easy to take it for granted that you can always do things later," says Sarah Downey. Photo: Liz & Sarah Downey

Though simple, the dice are surprisingly flexible. Vegetarian and paleo diets can be accommodated by rolling the veg or meat die twice and a separate vegetable die for each season makes it easy to remember if kale, chard, or endives are in. Photo: Liz & Sarah Downey

Suggestions from backers range from line extensions into dessert and drink courses with a few ardent D&D fans clamoring for a D20-based selection. Photo: Liz & Sarah Downey

"The wine tumbler was the best solution to showcase the dice and enhance the experience of rolling them," says Liz Downey. "And we loved the idea of reusing a glass bottle rather than using a new one. Ultimately, we decided that we couldn't let cost drive our design decisions." Photo: Liz & Sarah Downey

Foodie Dice are designed to solve a quintessential first-world problem—faced with a fully stocked pantry: What should I have for dinner tonight? Instead of being paralyzed by the paradox of choice, gourmands give up control and entrust their choice of entree to the roll of dice, which specify a protein, carb, seasonal vegetable, spice, and cooking method. Purposefully limiting, this yummy game of Yahtzee can still inspire over 186,000 possible meals and reduce stress while exposing diners to new flavor combinations.

Created by designer Sarah Downey and her beloved bean counter sister Liz Downey, the project grew out of their mutual love of exploration. “Life gets busy and as you live somewhere longer it’s easy to take it for granted that you can always do things later,” says Sarah. “So, we made an ‘Adventure Box’ for ourselves.” This box contained small sheets of paper inscribed with an activity, like exploring a section of coastline or climbing the hills of San Francisco, and on days off they’d pick a slip and follow its directions.

This yummy game of Yahtzee can inspire over 186,000 meals.

Inspired by the success of their serendipitous solution, they decided to apply the same principle to their love of food. Seeking a more durable and experimental solution, the sisters created a set of nine dice which provide a surprising amount of flexibility and educational value. Vegetarian and paleo diets can be accommodated by rolling the veg or meat die twice. A separate vegetable die for each season eliminates the ambiguity of having to remember if kale, chard, or endives are in. While the results might be random, the sisters have inserted a bit of editorial control by specifying a mix of common and exotic foodstuffs that will get people out of the supermarket and into specialty produce shops and local farmers’ markets.

Good design was critical to make the dice feel like a useful tool instead of a gimmick. Choosing wood as the material helps the dice feel at home in the kitchen and the minimal graphics would make the most orthodox hipster proud. Photo: Liz & Sarah Downey

Designing the dice to feel like a useful tool instead of a gimmicky gift was a challenge. “From the start, we knew that we wanted to use a natural material and wood was the obvious choice,” says Sarah and the dice ended up looking like a deconstructed butcher block. Graphically, they wanted avoid the country kitchen aesthetic and eschewed traditional seasonal markings in favor of minimal graphics that would make the most orthodox hipster proud.

For packaging, everything from mason jars to wooden boxes were on the table, but the Downeys ultimately selected the most expensive option, a shaker made from a reclaimed wine bottle. “The wine tumbler was the best solution to showcase the dice and enhance the experience of rolling them,” says Liz. “And we loved the idea of reusing a glass bottle rather than using a new one. Ultimately, we decided that we couldn’t let cost drive our design decisions.”

Despite their apparent simplicity, producing the dice in quantity proved to be difficult. Laser etching provided a warm handmade look, but were time consuming to manufacture. Fearing that they’d have to move production to China, the sisters got into the weeds of their supply chain and found a domestic vendor to take on their job which allowed them to offer their product on Kickstarter

As luck would have it, a couple thousand Kickstarter backers loved the idea, allowing the sisters to raise over 10 times their original goal in just a couple days. Beyond the financial support, backers are suggesting new sets of dice for cocktails, desserts, and even Dungeons & Dragons inspired D20 options.

Foodie Dice are available on Kickstarter until November 1st, starting at $16.